Policy Advisory Committee

All items on the consent agenda are considered to be routine and non-controversial by COG staff and will be approved by one motion if no member of the Committee or public wishes to comment or ask questions. If comment or discussion is desired by anyone, the item will be removed from the consent agenda and will be considered in the listed sequence with an opportunity for any member of the public to address the Committee concerning the item before action is taken.

April 10 2026 Minutes PAC

ACTION: Approve the April 10, 2026 Policy Advisory Committee meeting minutes.

City of Huron TDA Claim 2025-26

2026-14 City of Huron FY 2025-26 TDA Claim Resolution

Action: Staff requests the TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board approve Resolution 2026-14 adopting the City of Huron’s 2025-26 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $461,012.

LTF Final FY 26-27

2026-15 LTF Final Estimate 2026-27

Summary: Fresno COG provided preliminary Local Transportation Fund (LTF) estimates in February to inform member agencies’ budget processes for the upcoming year. The final estimates have been adjusted for the Department of Finance 2026 population numbers and are presented for adoption. The County of Fresno Auditor/Controller estimates 2026-27 LTF at $60 million, which is a slight increase over last year’s estimate.

Action:  Staff requests TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board adopt Resolution 2026-15 approving the 2026-27 Local Transportation Fund Estimate. 

STA Final FY 26-27

2026-16 STA Final Estimate 2026-27

Summary: Fresno COG provided preliminary State Transit Assistance estimates in February to inform member agencies’ budget processes for the upcoming year. The final estimates have been adjusted for the Department of Finance 2026 population numbers and are presented for adoption.  The State Controller’s Office estimates for the 2026-27 apportionment is $11,104,717, a 9 percent ($1,096,794) decrease from last year.

Action:  Staff requests TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board adopt Resolution 2026-16 approving the 2026-27 State Transit Assistance Fund Estimate.

SGR Final FY 26-27

2026-17 SGR State of Good Repair Final Estimate 2026-27

Summary: Fresno COG provided preliminary Senate Bill 1 State of Good Repair (SGR) estimates in February to inform member agencies’ budget processes for the upcoming year. The final estimates have been adjusted for the Department of Finance 2026 population numbers and are presented for adoption.  The State Controller’s Office estimate for the 2026-27 apportionment is $2,176,125, which is a $60,028 (3 percent) increase from last year.

Action: Staff requests TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board adopt resolution 2026-17 approving the 2026-27 State of Good Repair Fund Estimate.

3rd quarter report FY 25-26

Action: Staff requests the TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board approve the FY 2025-26 third quarter report.

FY-25-26-OA-Progress-Report--OCT-APRIL-2026

Obligation Authority Progress Report

Summary: On March 4, Fresno COG submitted its federal fiscal year (FFY) 2025/26 obligation plan to Caltrans’ Division of Local Assistance, which documents the estimated project delivery for the remainder of the year. The obligational authority (OA) target for federal fiscal year 2025/26 was set at $39,649,024.

As of April 30, the region has obligated $12,215,870 in combined Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) improvement funds. This equates to about 31% of the OA target. Attached is the list of obligated and de-obligated projects from October 1, 2025 through April 30, 2026.

The federal fiscal year began anew on October 1, 2025. It is the State of California’s goal to exceed the OA target and, in August, receive additional federal funds redistributed from other states to projects pending authorization. Fresno COG continues to encourage all agencies to continue submitting their requests for authorization. If projects do not receive authorization approval in August, they will be delayed to October 2026, the beginning of the new federal fiscal year 2026/27.

Please keep Fresno COG staff updated on any changes that could impact the region’s project delivery plan. Contact Blake Rincon at 559-233-4148 ext. 203 or brincon@fresnocog.org or Erin Haagenson at 559-233-4148 ext. 205 or ehaagenson@fresnocog.org with any questions regarding fiscal year deadlines or the process of obligating project funds.

Action: Information. The Committee may provide additional direction at its discretion.

New Technology 2026-27 Application

MAG Member Application 2026

Summary: Fresno COG is seeking proposals from eligible public agencies for advanced transit and transportation projects that have the potential for broad benefits to Fresno County residents and will assist the region in meeting its air quality goals. Fresno COG and the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) are proposing to fund projects of regional significance in the areas of research, development, demonstration, and deployment that will advance public transit and transportation. This cycle of the Measure “C” New Technology Reserve Program will make approximately $7,625,000 available for eligible new technology projects/programs. The 2026 application is attached to this item and is also available on the Fresno COG website.

Timeline:

In February 2016, the Policy Board approved a formal process to solicit and accept members to sit on a Multidisciplinary Advisory Group (MAG). The MAG will review, evaluate, and score the New Tech applications and recommend projects for funding.  Nominees are needed from the following categories:  City of Fresno, City of Clovis, east side city, west side city, County of Fresno, Measure C Citizens Oversight Committee, FCTA, transit, business, education, and two public seats. The MAG application is available and is due June 25. Those interested in serving on the scoring committee or who would like to nominate someone else, please notify Principal Planner Simran Jhutti Sangha.

For more information regarding the Measure C New Technology program please visit http://www.fresnocog.org/measure-c-new-technology-reserve-fund and/or contact Simran Jhutti Sangha at jhutti@fresncog.org.

Action: Information. The Committee may provide additional direction at its discretion.

FSTI Revised Funding Request 202604

Background: The Measure C New Technology Reserve program funds projects that will advance transportation and public transit research, development, demonstration & deployment, which includes the Fresno State Transportation Institute (FSTI). The Fresno State Transportation Institute is a collaboration that seeks to address Fresno County’s transportation problems through education, research, technical services, and outreach to the public. In addition to Fresno State’s Lyles College of Engineering, the Craig School of Business and College of Social Sciences also participate.

Building on a diverse set of activities, FSTI is intended to be an innovation enabler for developing and implementing advanced multimodal and transit projects in Fresno County and beyond. FSTI also funds multiple research projects, such as an AI-powered survey tool capable of dialing thousands of residents simultaneously, and a prototype robotic crossing guard for elementary school children, among several others. Furthermore, FSTI sponsors an annual model train competition for school children interested in engineering and other transportation-related professions.

Summary: The Fresno State Transportation Institute (FSTI) was awarded approximately $3 million in funding programmed in 2017 though FY22/23. The contract was later amended in 2022 through FY25/26, with no additional funds due to the lapse in activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. To accommodate additional activities and utilize remaining funds, FSTI had requested a no-cost extension past the original contract deadline of June 30, 2026 to Dec. 31, 2026. The Fresno COG Policy Board approved this March 26, 2026. However, there was a $300,000 charge from Fresno State to cover 30 percent of Dr. Tawfik’s salary from 2022 to 2025, which was withdrawn directly from the Institute’s accounts.

FSTI programs and activities have grown based on requests for additional studies and projects. The program has requested additional funding to continue its workload. (See attached letter). At the April Fresno County Transportation Authority meeting, the Board directed Fresno COG to allocate additional funding to the program. Fresno COG and FCTA staff coordinated with Dr. Aly Tawfik, an assistant professor of civil engineering who leads the Institute, and determined the best course is to allocate $375,000 of Measure C New Technology funding to sustain FSTI’s programs, research, employment of student interns, and activities through the remainder of its contract, Dec. 31, 2026.  FSTI is also expected to compete with the next New Tech call-for-projects opening today.

Action: Staff and TTC/PAC request the Policy Board authorize the Fresno COG executive director to amend the contract with Fresno State Transportation to allocate $375,000 in Measure C New Technology funding through December 2026.

LSA_Fresno COG Regional VMT

Summary: Under SB 743, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) replaced level of service as a metric under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), reducing the significance of congestion as a consideration in traffic engineering generally, while emphasizing infill development and multi-modal transportation systems. It also requires VMT mitigation measures for new developments at either a local or regional level.

After the development of original SB 743 guidelines back in 2020, Fresno COG realized the need for the reduction of VMT impact, faced by residential and commercial developers. As a result, Fresno COG kicked off the first phase of its Regional Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Mitigation Program in 2023, which studied potential VMT mitigation options including a VMT bank, VMT impact fee, and VMT mitigation exchange.

This second phase of the project will build on the findings of first phase and work on developing the regional VMT mitigation program framework. Based on the outcomes of the first phase study, VMT banking was found to be the most appropriate program framework for implementation in the Fresno region.

The project will convene the stakeholder and technical committee to share their experience and insights, and guide the implementation framework. The consultant will work with Fresno COG and the stakeholder committee to identify potential VMT mitigation measures to include in the program. The types of measures included will influence the type of program that should be considered. The consultant will also develop the cost estimates for all projects and programs, estimating the potential VMT reduction associated with each. The regional VMT mitigation program framework will be voluntary to its member agencies.

In February 2026, Fresno COG issued the request for proposals (RFP) seeking consultants for this project. Three consultants submitted the proposals. The scoring committee, comprising representatives from the City of Fresno, Clovis Transit, the City of Reedley, County of Fresno and Fresno COG, scored the proposals, with LSA being the highest scoring contractor.

LSA is a diversified transportation, environmental, and community planning firm with 50 years of experience helping public and private-sector clients. LSA developed the original regional VMT guidelines for Fresno COG and updated the guidelines in 2025. LSA recently developed the VMT mitigation program for the City of Fresno as well, and is very familiar with the Fresno County region. The project is anticipated to be completed by June 2027.

Action: Staff requests that the TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board authorize the executive director to enter a contract with LSA for the development of the Regional VMT Mitigation Program framework with the budget not to exceed $309,924.

Summary: Section 176(c) (42 USC 7506) of the Federal Clean Air Act requires Federal projects, transportation plans and programs to conform to the State’s Air Quality Implementation Plan for specified pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, reactive organic gases, and particulate matter, or face penalties for failing to do so.

As a frequent non-attainment area for several of these pollutants, the eight counties in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) air basin are routinely faced with potential Federal sanctions, including a “lockdown” on capacity-increasing transportation projects and/or a withholding of Federal transportation funding.

Air quality conformity findings are updated at least every two years alongside the Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) biennial cycle, and also on an as-needed basis as new projects are introduced via amendments to the FTIP and Regional Transportation Plan.

The eight Valley metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) within the SJV air basin are simultaneously undergoing the latest round of updates to their respective RTPs, FTIPs and corresponding air quality conformity documents.  Although each region develops its own planning process separately, the common air basin requires that either all transportation plans and programs meet air quality conformity requirements or risk the potential for mass failure should even a single region fall short in its conformity findings.

This potential for failure has led the Valley MPOs to determine that for the 2026 RTP/FTIP, it will be necessary to pool collective resources to provide any air quality “savings” from some regions to provide for those who are unable to demonstrate conformity.  Consequently, the Valley MPOs are proposing a collective, Valleywide air quality conformity budget for the entire air basin.

Fresno COG is still modeling the projects in its RTP and FTIP for conformity purposes; however, staff believes it will have some room to spare in terms of emissions savings, which will serve as a credit to other regions in this scenario. The draft of the Fresno COG 2026 RTP/FTIP will be released in June for public comments, with the final 2026 RTP/FTIP anticipated to be adopted by the Fresno COG Policy Board in September.

Action: Information.  The Committee may provide additional direction at its discretion.